A Guide to Duration, DV01, and Yield Curve Risk Transformations

Yield curve risk and sensitivities (DV01s) can be measured with respect to different variables: forward rates, par rates, zero yields, or others. This paper describes a simple method for transforming sensitivities between alternate representations and provides examples. The benefit of this transformation method is that it only requires calculating the risk of a small set of alternate instrument and does not require re-calculating the original portfolio risk.

About Thomas Coleman

Thomas S. Coleman is Senior Advisor at the Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics and Adjunct Professor of Finance at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. Prior to returning to academia, Mr. Coleman worked in the finance industry for more than twenty years with considerable experience in trading, risk management, and quantitative modeling. Mr. Coleman earned a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago and a BA in physics from Harvard College.